Engineering a Smart Grid For Energy's Future

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   Engineering a Smart Grid For Energy's Future
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/26/AR2009042602628.html?hpid=artslot 

By Kim Hart
Monday, April 27, 2009 

Current Group, a Germantown-based technology firm, has taken over a nondescript house in Bethesda and turned it into a laboratory for smart-grid technology, the system the company believes will bring the nation's electricity grids into the digital age. 

In the front yard stands a utility pole hooked up to a special transformer that connects the power lines to high-speed Internet. Hundreds of sensors attached to the lines monitor how power flows through the home. That information is then sent back to the utility company. 
The process, Current says, lets a utility more efficiently manage the distribution of electricity by allowing two-way communication between consumers and energy suppliers via the broadband network on the power lines. Based on data they receive from hundreds of homes, utilities can monitor usage and adjust output and pricing in response to demand. Consumers can be rewarded with reduced rates by cutting back on consumption during peak periods. And computerized substations can talk to each other so overloaded circuits hand off electricity to underused ones, helping to prevent blackouts. 
"Utility companies are deaf, dumb and blind to the problems on hundreds of thousands of lines in local distribution areas," said Jay Birnbaum, Current's senior vice president. "These are extremely old grids, and the technicians don't know how to measure what's going on." 
Smart grid technology aims to change that. 
Some utility companies, including Pepco in Maryland and the District, have launched initiatives to give consumers data about their energy consumption habits in an effort to lower energy bills. Smart-grid technology takes such programs further by automating electricity distribution, which proponents say would make grids more reliable and efficient. 
By partnering with utilities, the company hopes to tap into $4.5 billion in stimulus grants intended to spur smart-grid development. When he announced the funding, President Obama pointed to a project in Boulder, Colo., as an example of a successful smart-grid experiment. Current is one of the companies working on the project. 

The Boulder project also involves Arlington-based GridPoint, which provides software and information technology services to help run the smart grid, and Accenture, best known in the Washington area for government consulting work. 
GridPoint's product lets utilities and consumers measure how energy is being used by appliances or air-conditioning systems in a home. Karl Lewis, GridPoint's chief strategy officer, said the online software will be even more useful when folks need to charge plug-in electric hybrid vehicles. 
"A utility may give you an incentive to not plug your car in at 7 p.m. so you aren't using energy in a peak period," he said. "Instead, maybe you'll plug it in at 2 a.m. and, in return, you may pay lower rates. 
"You can see how much your A/C system is costing every month, and how much you can save by turning your thermostat up two degrees," Lewis added. 
Smart-grid projects require many components -- digital meters and software systems, for example -- allowing both smaller and larger firms to compete. Current started out aiming to provide broadband service over power lines, but shifted to providing the grid communications system when utilities' adoption of Internet via power lines was slower than expected. GridPoint initially produced appliances to store energy produced by solar panels. 

Current's chief executive Tom Casey believes the technology will help utility companies better allocate electricity produced by renewable resources, such as solar panels or wind farms. 

"A smart grid's system . . . can be paired up with the renewable resources so that when the renewable source is varying, the overall load can be varied as well," Casey told the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming in February. "This will reduce or eliminate the need for backup coal or gas-based power generation plants." 
Venture Capital Slides

It's been a sobering quarter for venture capitalists. The amount of money they've been able to raise from limited partners and invest in new companies has dropped to the lowest levels in a decade. 
So it wasn't surprising that the mood was less than cheerful at last week's quarterly Money Tree breakfast in Tysons Corner. Normally, the events are packed with investors who want to talk about their recent deals and entrepreneurs who want to snag the next one. This time, a lot of faces in the smaller-than-usual crowd weren't smiling. 
"Ninety percent of the VCs in this area didn't make a single investment last quarter," said Bob Nelson, a serial entrepreneur who is chief executive of CrossMine, a directory of technology ventures in the Washington region, and has advised other area start-ups including iBelong, Clarabridge and PointAbout. "Not good." 
Julia Spicer, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association, which represents about 100 venture capital firms in the region, shared results of its quarterly member survey, which offered advice to entrepreneurs to weather the grim market. 
Key takeaways: Build your company as long as possible without outside money, use less expensive off-shore resources, only spend money on top priorities. 

And Spicer's personal favorite: "Cash is more important than air." 
Kim Hart writes about the Washington technology scene every Monday. 

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semar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Male Islam Joined: 11 March 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1830	Post Options Post Reply Quote semar Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Engineering a Smart Grid For Energy's Future Posted: 27 April 2009 at 8:14am
	Engineering a Smart Grid For Energy's Future http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/26/AR2009042602628.html?hpid=artslot By Kim Hart Monday, April 27, 2009 Current Group, a Germantown-based technology firm, has taken over a nondescript house in Bethesda and turned it into a laboratory for smart-grid technology, the system the company believes will bring the nation's electricity grids into the digital age. In the front yard stands a utility pole hooked up to a special transformer that connects the power lines to high-speed Internet. Hundreds of sensors attached to the lines monitor how power flows through the home. That information is then sent back to the utility company. The process, Current says, lets a utility more efficiently manage the distribution of electricity by allowing two-way communication between consumers and energy suppliers via the broadband network on the power lines. Based on data they receive from hundreds of homes, utilities can monitor usage and adjust output and pricing in response to demand. Consumers can be rewarded with reduced rates by cutting back on consumption during peak periods. And computerized substations can talk to each other so overloaded circuits hand off electricity to underused ones, helping to prevent blackouts. "Utility companies are deaf, dumb and blind to the problems on hundreds of thousands of lines in local distribution areas," said Jay Birnbaum, Current's senior vice president. "These are extremely old grids, and the technicians don't know how to measure what's going on." Smart grid technology aims to change that. Some utility companies, including Pepco in Maryland and the District, have launched initiatives to give consumers data about their energy consumption habits in an effort to lower energy bills. Smart-grid technology takes such programs further by automating electricity distribution, which proponents say would make grids more reliable and efficient. By partnering with utilities, the company hopes to tap into $4.5 billion in stimulus grants intended to spur smart-grid development. When he announced the funding, President Obama pointed to a project in Boulder, Colo., as an example of a successful smart-grid experiment. Current is one of the companies working on the project. The Boulder project also involves Arlington-based GridPoint, which provides software and information technology services to help run the smart grid, and Accenture, best known in the Washington area for government consulting work. GridPoint's product lets utilities and consumers measure how energy is being used by appliances or air-conditioning systems in a home. Karl Lewis, GridPoint's chief strategy officer, said the online software will be even more useful when folks need to charge plug-in electric hybrid vehicles. "A utility may give you an incentive to not plug your car in at 7 p.m. so you aren't using energy in a peak period," he said. "Instead, maybe you'll plug it in at 2 a.m. and, in return, you may pay lower rates. "You can see how much your A/C system is costing every month, and how much you can save by turning your thermostat up two degrees," Lewis added. Smart-grid projects require many components -- digital meters and software systems, for example -- allowing both smaller and larger firms to compete. Current started out aiming to provide broadband service over power lines, but shifted to providing the grid communications system when utilities' adoption of Internet via power lines was slower than expected. GridPoint initially produced appliances to store energy produced by solar panels. Current's chief executive Tom Casey believes the technology will help utility companies better allocate electricity produced by renewable resources, such as solar panels or wind farms. "A smart grid's system . . . can be paired up with the renewable resources so that when the renewable source is varying, the overall load can be varied as well," Casey told the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming in February. "This will reduce or eliminate the need for backup coal or gas-based power generation plants." Venture Capital Slides It's been a sobering quarter for venture capitalists. The amount of money they've been able to raise from limited partners and invest in new companies has dropped to the lowest levels in a decade. So it wasn't surprising that the mood was less than cheerful at last week's quarterly Money Tree breakfast in Tysons Corner. Normally, the events are packed with investors who want to talk about their recent deals and entrepreneurs who want to snag the next one. This time, a lot of faces in the smaller-than-usual crowd weren't smiling. "Ninety percent of the VCs in this area didn't make a single investment last quarter," said Bob Nelson, a serial entrepreneur who is chief executive of CrossMine, a directory of technology ventures in the Washington region, and has advised other area start-ups including iBelong, Clarabridge and PointAbout. "Not good." Julia Spicer, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association, which represents about 100 venture capital firms in the region, shared results of its quarterly member survey, which offered advice to entrepreneurs to weather the grim market. Key takeaways: Build your company as long as possible without outside money, use less expensive off-shore resources, only spend money on top priorities. And Spicer's personal favorite: "Cash is more important than air." Kim Hart writes about the Washington technology scene every Monday.
	Salam/Peace, Semar "We are people who do not eat until we are hungry and do not eat to our fill." (Prophet Muhammad PBUH) "1/3 of your stomach for food, 1/3 for water, 1/3 for air"